Enter your postcode to find your nearest store to have a face-to-face chat!
Why premiums are reviewed annually
Reviewing premiums is necessary to keep pace with the rising cost of healthcare, and the increasing number of treatments sought by Australians. Here’s some of the reasons why premiums are changing.
Better quality healthcare
In Australia, we enjoy some of the best healthcare in the world. New and improving technologies mean better treatment, but they can come at a price. These technologies are often expensive to implement and that contributes to higher overall costs in the health sector.
A rise in chronic conditions
While we’re living longer, Australians are also being admitted to hospital in record numbers. Chronic conditions such as heart disease and diabetes are still increasing year by year.
Our ageing population
It’s great news that Australians, on the whole, are living longer. But the longer we live, the more healthcare we’re likely to need. Generally speaking, increasing life expectancy equals increasing premiums.
Frequently asked questions
New premiums are effective from 1 April 2021. We will be in touch with you from late February to let you know the details of your new premium, at which point this information will also be available for you to view online via My Medibank.
Healthcare costs continue to rise due to a range of factors including increased cost of health services, the growing use and cost of medical technology, Australia’s ageing population and an increase in chronic health conditions.
The 1 April 2021 premium change will be our lowest average increase in 20 years.
If you’re doing it tough, contact us via phone, 24/7 online chat, or visit us in store to talk through your options.
Included within a $185 million Medibank Support Package was the six month postponement of the 1 April 2020 premium increases along with a variety of resources and programs to support our members. Click here to find out more. Many of these initiatives will continue to play a vital role in helping our members in the future. For example:
- Extending eligible extras covers to permanently include telehealth services for 7 allied health services such as psychology and physiotherapy¹. Find out more
- Launching COVID-19 Health Support², a program of personalised health and wellbeing support at home for eligible members.
- Introducing Live Better at Home to give all Australians access to a free online program of work out videos, cooking demonstrations and guided meditations, and partnering with Smiling Mind on a program to help foster positive mental health habits among Australian families.
- Donating $5 million to Beyond Blue for its new COVID-19 mental wellbeing and support service.
- Access to Medibank’s 24/7 Nurse and Mental Health lines³.
- Providing 400 nurses to help run the national COVID line.
We know how important affordable health cover is to you and have been working to provide better support and value for members. In order to do so, we’ve worked hard to take costs out of our business and delivered $20 million of productivity savings in the 2020 financial year. We have also committed to another $50 million of cost reduction over the next 3 years.
We’ve worked hard to reduce costs as a deliberate strategy to provide our product at the best possible price for our customers. For example, our members wanted more control over where and when to get treatment, so we developed Medibank at Home, a group of trial programs that bring hospital care right into the homes of our eligible members, where available, providing them with choice and flexibility over where they receive their treatment.
We're tackling increasing healthcare costs in a number of ways:
- Investing in primary care programs for eligible members with chronic conditions to help them stay out of hospital.
- Partnering with the healthcare sector to support better health outcomes for members.
- Launching the Live Better programme to help Australians get healthy and stay healthy - and be rewarded for doing so.⁴
- Providing the young adult discount on eligible hospital covers.
- Conducting regular cover reviews to ensure that you are always on the right cover for you and that you get the most out of it.
We can't charge you less for not using your cover or charge you more for using it. Private health insurance in Australia must meet the government's community rating requirements. This means everyone has access to the same insurance products at the same base price, regardless of their health or claiming behaviour.
The main reason for premium change is to keep pace with the rising cost of healthcare and the increasing need for healthcare. We're living longer, chronic conditions are on the rise and we enjoy some of the best healthcare in the world. Your specific premium change depends on several factors, such as the state you live in, the type of cover you're on, and the general claiming pattern of members.
We’ve been working hard to ensure our members can get better value from their membership. Depending on what’s included in your policy, (check your cover summary to find out more) you may be able to:
- access to Medibank’s 24/7 Nurse and Mental Health lines.³
- get 100% back on two dental check-ups a year at a Members’ Choice Advantage dentist.⁶
- get 100% back on optical items like frames, prescription glasses, contacts and more at recognised providers, up to your annual limits. (some lens coatings are excluded).
- at Specsavers, get two pairs of prescription designer glasses, including standard single-vision lenses, with no gap.⁸
- get member discounts on Pet, Travel and Life Insurance.
And with our Live Better rewards program, we’re rewarding you for looking after your health. You can:
- access free, active and social activities across the country (such as parkrun and outdoor fitness classes) or exercise from home with a range of videos from our Live Better at Home library
- access expert health information, recipe inspiration, exercise tips and online courses to support your health
- if you are an eligible Medibank member, earn Live Better reward points and use them towards a gift card, savings of $200 on your health cover or get more on your extras like a remedial massage or physio service - simply by taking a broad range of healthy actions.
The private hospital system gives you peace of mind and choice.
Shorter wait times: For in-hospital procedures that are considered non-life-threatening or elective, you’re likely to be treated sooner as a private patient in a private hospital. If it’s a condition that affects your ability to work or causes pain, this becomes especially important.
Choice over your specialist: There’s a lot to be said for being able to choose your preferred specialist as a private patient in a private hospital; even more so if you’re embarking on a health journey like pregnancy, or if it’s a serious illness and your life is quite literally in their hands.
A private room: You are more likely to get the calm and comfort of a private room while in a private hospital (provided one is available and is appropriate for your clinical needs).
Extras: Your Medibank extras cover is there to help with your day-to-day health and could even prevent smaller issues from becoming bigger ones. But you do need to know what’s included under your cover to make the most of it. You can check this through the Medibank mobile app or by logging into My Medibank.
It’s also important to make sure you’re on the right type of cover for where you’re at in life; and that’s why we’re encouraging all our members to take another look at their cover. Give us a call on 132 331 and we’ll take you through a cover review.
Get the most out of your cover
Providing support for our members
Our 24/7 Medibank Nurse and Medibank Mental Health Phone Support lines are available for all members with hospital cover. Due to higher demand for these services we have increased the number of our health experts.
Live Better at Home
With many changes to the way we live, our Live Better at Home program couldn’t have come at a better time, encouraging members to join daily health & wellbeing activities from the comfort and safety of their own home.
24/7 Medibank Nurse Phone Service
Members with hospital cover can call our phone service to speak to a Medibank nurse about their health concerns at any time of the day or night.⁷
Call 1800 644 325
24/7 Mental Health Phone Support
Members with hospital cover can talk with a mental health professional over the phone in relation to any mental health or emotional concern, 24 hours a day 7 days a week.⁷
Call 1800 644 325
Message us 24/7
Your health never sleeps, so message an expert about your health cover anytime via our 24/7 Help Online.
Use Members’ Choice to your advantage
You could enjoy better value for a wide range of included extras. By utilising our Members’ Choice and Members’ Choice Advantage network, you’ll get access to a wide range of health providers, where you can generally enjoy better value on a range of included extras. Many health services are available but please contact your health provider to confirm.
100% back on up to two dental check-ups
We know our members want greater everyday value when it comes to extras. That’s why all Medibank extras members get 100% back on up to two dental check-ups at a Members’ Choice Advantage dentist every year, including x-rays.⁶
2 pairs - no gap
Medibank members on eligible extras can now get two prescription designer glasses, from our Members’ Choice Advantage provider’s $249 range, including standard single-vision prescription lenses, with no gap.⁸
My Medibank App
We’ve made it simpler for most members to stay on top of their cover with the My Medibank App. Check your limits, submit a claim for most extras, and find a Members’ Choice provider anywhere, anytime. And to avoid surprises, most members can use the out-of-pocket feature to estimate benefits and gaps for most extras claims.⁹

Helping you live better

When you live better,
we’re all better for it
With changes to how we all work and live nowadays, there’s no better time to take advantage of our Live Better program which supports a range of free, fun and social activities online and across Australia to help keep your mind and body active, offers a digital guide to a happier, healthier you with wellbeing tips, expert advice, recipes and exercise guides and rewards you for looking after your health, no matter how you choose to do it.⁴

Are you on the right cover?
Everyone benefits from a quick health check now and then. And the same goes with your health insurance.
We know that affordability will always be important for our members. Our team is on hand to discuss options that could make your premiums more manageable. Or if your circumstances have changed since we last spoke, it may be a good time to review your cover and check if a different cover option may be more suitable.
Things you should know
¹ Overseas Health Covers excluded. Waiting periods and annual limits apply.
² Waiting periods may apply.
³ Available to all members on eligible hospital cover
⁴ Must be 18 years or over and have a valid Australian residential address to register for Medibank Live Better. Must be a Medibank member with hospital cover, extras cover, or hospital and extras cover, be up-to-date with premium payments and have signed up to Medibank Live Better with ‘My Medibank’ or have linked their MyMedibank account with their Live Better account to redeem rewards. Excludes Overseas Visitor health cover, Working Visa health cover, Overseas Student Health Cover (OSHC), Ambulance only cover, ahm covers and other selected covers. Additional terms and conditions may apply to the redemption of a reward depending on the type of reward chosen. See full Medibank Live Better terms here. NB: access to benefits/services listed above is excluded during periods of policy suspension.
⁵ Waiting periods apply. For ambulance attendance or transportation to a hospital where immediate professional attention is required and your medical condition is such that you couldn't be transported any other way. Tasmania and Queensland have state schemes to cover ambulance services for residents of those states.
⁶ Two month waiting period may apply. Limited to two dental check-ups on all extras annually. Maximum two bitewing x-rays per check-up, where clinically needed. Not available in all areas.
⁷ OSHC members should call the Student Health and Support Line on 1800 887 283.
⁸ Waiting periods apply. If your full annual optical limit is not available at time of purchase, out of pockets may apply. Both pairs must be of the same prescription. Other lens options available at an extra cost.
⁹ Claims for some types of services/items excluded. Some claims, like paper based, may take longer to update.
Have questions?
Our team of experts are ready to help!
Fill in the form below or get in touch by calling our dedicated line 1300 110
086.
We are open on Sundays.
In providing your telephone number, you consent to Medibank contacting you about health insurance.
We'll have someone call you soon to help with any questions you have.
Or, check out our FAQs and guides to help get you started.